Tipping in America was always something extra, it was a reward, an incentive for a worker to do their job well. Tipping was never designed or intended to replace wages, nor should it have. Giving a tip was like telling an employee "Thank you for taking care of me, I appreciate your attentive work and that you went beyond your jobs minimum expectations in taking care of me."
But this is all a symptom of a bigger problem: greed. Businesses want indefinitely growing profits. They are not content to earn enough money to be able operate safely, and CEOs are definitely not content to skip buying their 13th beachfront mansion.